BLACK BEAR IS SIGHTED IN DESERT NEAR SD

Short video shows animal crossing road

A U.S. Border Patrol night-vision camera caught an unusual critter recently in the desert east of San Diego.

The short, 53-second video clearly shows a large black bear crossing the road and disappearing into the desert brush. The identity of the Border Patrol agent who sent out the video to a friend is not known, but the video reportedly came from a camera located between the In-Ko-Pah turnoff and Mountain Springs Road. The date was around Jan. 31.

Charlie Nichols, a sportsman from Imperial, forwarded the video to U-T San Diego. He asked if any black bears had been seen in San Diego in the last 50 years.

Thirteen years ago there were several bear sightings in San Diego County. No one had any explanation for their sudden appearances, but there were unconfirmed reports of a possible relocations of bears in the Palomar Mountain area.

In 1999 and 2000 there were 12 bear sightings reported before a 200-pound black bear was shot in Ballena Valley, nine miles east of Ramona.

The bear had wandered into the yard of David and Nancy Benson and was approaching their livestock when David Benson sent a warning shot over the bear. When it didn’t leave, he shot it in the head.

Gigi Deshe at the local Department of Fish and Wildlife office of Region 5 said Monday she had not taken any bear-sighting calls. She said she would pass the information on to the DFW law enforcement division.

Black bears have never been a part of San Diego’s ecosystem, but grizzly bears, the state animal that graces California’s flag, were native here before going extinct in California before 1900.

In 1933, 28 black bears were relocated from Yosemite to the San Bernardino Mountains.

Another 11 were relocated to the San Gabriel Mountains.

Estimates today are that there are between 150 and 500 black bears in each region.

But for the most part, the bears appear to have stayed above Interstate 10.

There are culverts where the bears could have crossed under I-10.

The DFW instructs anyone seeing a black bear to call it in at (858) 467-4201.